Sampark Foundation's Leadership Team, diverse in expertise and united in passion for educational reform, leads our tech-integration efforts in rural education.
Meet Our Team
Sampark Foundation's Leadership Team, diverse in expertise and united in passion for
educational reform, leads our tech-integration efforts in rural education.
Our Board Members
The Sampark Foundation's Advisory Board comprises visionary leaders in technology and social innovation, including educators, policymakers, and entrepreneurs. They guide our tech driven educational initiatives, leveraging their expertise to transform rural education in India and create equitable, tech-empowered learning environments.
Chancellor of DIT University, Dehradun
N.Ravi Shanker was a Member of the IAS from 1980 to 2015. He served in the Govt of Uttar Pradesh; Govt of Uttarakhand & Govt of India. He has experience in the Education sector: He served as Secretary (Basic Education) in the Govt of UP and as Secretary (Education) in the Govt of Uttarakhand. From 2007-14; he served as Joint Secretary/Additional Secretary, Dept of IT (2007-11); Additional Secretary/Special Secretary, Dept of Telecom (2011-14); and Secretary Dept of Administrative Reforms [2014] in the Government of India. He was Chief Secretary to the Government of Uttarakhand in the period 2014-15 and retired from this position. At present, he is Chancellor of DIT University, Dehradun, from Oct 2018.
K. V. Chowdary is an officer of the 1978 batch of Indian Revenue Service (IRS). He retired as Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in 2014 after serving the Income tax department in different capacities and posts. He was appointed as the Central Vigilance Commissioner in June 2015 for four years. He currently serves as an independent director in some large companies and is associated with many Charitable organisations.
He has been involved with the Indian Census since 1981. He studied Demography at LSE and also did his post-doctoral research from there in ‘ Smallpox and Vaccination in Eighteenth and Nineteenth British Century India. He specialises in Vital Statistics and Civil Registration System and is currently the Chairman of this Committee in MoHFW as also cochair on improving data on health and nutrition set up by ICMR with support from B&M Foundation. His core interest includes the girl child, Data-Driven Governance, public health and major infrastructure projects being involved with MMRDA. He has been involved with population censuses of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Lebanon etc. in the last two decades. Currently, he is a member of the Census of India 2021, Technical Committee.
J V Ramamurthy is an innovative business strategist, board member, and corporate leader. He developed enterprise-wide initiatives that built highly differentiated business verticals resulting in new business development and sustainable growth. He is a driver and champion of transformational programs, turnarounds. He has served as a board member in various capacities in HCL from 1998 till 2016.
Dr. Rajesh Hassija dreams and breathes education. The author of more than fifty books on mathematics and computer science, Dr. Hassija has made a significant impact in the field of education. An educationist who firmly believes in leading by example, he is a member of distinguished education bodies like the Committee of Courses & Assessment, of both CBSE and NCERT, and of the Executive Committees of the National Accreditation Board for Education and Quality Council of India. His contribution in the field of education in training and mentoring young minds odyssey has made him a “Pedagogical Grandmaster”. In recognition of his contribution in the education segment, Dr. Hassija was bestowed with the prestigious National Teacher’s Award 2003, which was awarded by then President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, and the Lifetime Achievement Award apart from numerous other awards which he received in his four decades of the educational journey.
Amarjeet Sinha was posted on re-employment, as Advisor to the Prime Minister, in the rank of Secretary to Government of India, till 31 July 2021. He is an IAS officer of the 1983 Bihar cadre, retired as Secretary of Rural Development in December
Linda A. Hill, the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, is a leading expert on leadership and innovation. She co-authored "Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation" and co-founded Paradox Strategies and InnovationForce, a SaaS company recognized by Fast Company in 2023. Named among the top ten management thinkers by Thinkers50 in 2013 and 2021, Hill’s research centers on leadership development, agile organizations, and digital leadership. Her TED Talk on collective creativity has over 2.9 million views, and her works, including “Becoming a Manager,” are celebrated as influential in the field of management.
Dilip Cherian is widely admired as India’s “Image Guru”. He has been a bureaucrat, an economist, an editor, a restaurateur and a serial entrepreneur, besides being a sought-after columnist, social media maven & TV talking head. Today, his focus is on Strategic Communications, Crisis Counselling and growing his unique new practice of Litigation Landscaping. But his story began as a Babu, doing projections as an Economist for a Dept of the Indian Govt. In between he’s spawned a Design lab with IITians, run a restaurant and even been an Agony Uncle for schoolchildren in a newspaper he founded for them. As Founder at Perfect Relations, Dilip is credited with introducing the concept of Image Management in India. Perfect Relations has advised over 800 brands, 3000 companies, 8 political parties in 4 countries and innumerable start-ups on their critical communications needs. A political & policy expert he advices on bureaucracy, analyzes the economy and spawn’s media. He has been an Independent Director on several Media Boards, including FM channel ‘Radio One’, and India’s largest newspaper, Dainik Jagran. He's also served as a board member to giants such as Bajaj Corp Ltd, Non-profits like MAP (The Museum of Art & Photography) and Yuva (India’s School upgradation start-up) He also Chairs the Advisory Board of the Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad.
Pioneering Educational Innovation
Sampark Foundation's Leadership Team, diverse in expertise and united in passion for educational reform, leads our tech-integration efforts in rural education.
Dr K. Rajeswara Rao
President, Sampark Foundation
Dr K. Rajeswara Rao is a 1988 batch Senior IAS Officer and last served as Special Secretary (in the rank of Secretary to Govt. of India), NITI Aayog, National Think Tank of GoI. During the long span of 34 years of administrative experience, he had dealt with Six Ministries (Mines, Health, Railways, Food Processing, Women and Child Welfare) of the Government of India for about 16 years. He worked at various levels, i.e. Director, joint Secretary, and Additional Secretary. Dr Rao chaired the National Committee and drafted Reform Oriented National Mineral Policy. Dr Rao has a PhD in social sciences, an MPhil in national security, a master's in sociology, a bachelor's in basic sciences and a PG diploma in journalism.
Dr K. Rajeswara Rao
President, Sampark Foundation
Dr. K. Rajeswara Rao is a distinguished 1988-batch IAS officer who last served as Special Secretary (in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India) at NITI Aayog, the Government of India's premier public policy think tank. Over an illustrious 34-year career in public service, Dr. Rao held senior leadership positions across six ministries of the Government of India, including the Ministries of Mines, Health, Railways, Food Processing Industries, and Women & Child Development. He served in key roles such as Director, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, and Special Secretary, providing strategic leadership in governance, policy formulation, and institutional reforms. He also chaired the National Committee responsible for drafting India's reform-oriented National Mineral Policy, a landmark policy initiative. For nearly 16 years, Dr. Rao also held senior leadership positions in the Governments of Tripura and Andhra Pradesh, leading transformative initiatives across education, urban development, infrastructure, and the social development sector, including the implementation of bilateral-assisted projects. He also served for five years as Principal Secretary to the Hon'ble CM, playing a pivotal role in driving governance reforms and public service delivery. An accomplished academic, Dr. Rao holds a PhD in Social Sciences, an MPhil in National Security, a Master's degree in Sociology, a bachelor's degree in Basic Sciences, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism. His unique blend of administrative excellence, policy expertise, and academic scholarship has made him a respected voice on governance, public policy, institutional leadership, and sustainable development.
Sampark Leadership Team
